Marcus Smart's impact: How guard's return could change the Boston Celtics rotation

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2015/12/marcus_smarts_impact_how_guard.html



Marcus Smart's impact: How guard's return could change the Boston Celtics rotation






Marcus Smart, Russell Westbrook
Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) returned to the lineup Sunday after missing 18 games. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)


Print Email Jay King | mjking@masslive.com By Jay King | mjking@masslive.com

on December 28, 2015 at 10:00 AM, updated December 28, 2015 at 1:06 PM




BOSTON -- For a brief moment before Sunday's win, Marcus Smart did not wear a warmup shirt on the Boston Celtics bench.

It was fun to speculate he shunned the typical pregame attire because he wanted to play so badly after an 18-game absence, because he wanted to be ready the very second head coach Brad Stevens called his name. If anybody would be so thirsty for competition, it would be Smart, especially after a left knee injury kept him sidelined for more than a month. Alas, after a minute or so, a Celtics staffer ran Smart's warmup shirt to him. Maybe he had just forgotten it in the locker room.

If that was the case, it wasn't the only sign of rust for the 20-year-old. Shortly after he checked into a game for the first time since Nov. 20, he was beaten on a cut to the hoop. The rare defensive mistake delivered a reminder that Smart -- who finished his return with six points over 13 minutes -- will need time to rediscover his typical bruising, difference-making self. Before Sunday's 100-91 win against the New York Knicks, he had not played any live 5-on-5 action since the injury.

Later in the game, he sank an and-1 for his first bucket and drilled an important fourth-quarter triple. Head coach Brad Stevens wanted to limit the guard to 15 or 20 minutes, but kept Smart's playing time a bit under that to make sure he was available for defensive purposes down the stretch.

Whenever he is 100 percent again and the minutes restriction is lifted, Stevens will have decisions to make.

Such as....

1. The starting lineup

During Smart's absence, the Celtics have turned to a starting backcourt of Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley. Though the duo has played a big chunk of its 625 minutes together against opposing starters, the Celtics have outscored opponents by a healthy 7.1 points per 100 possessions with both of the Tacoma guards on the court.

The first unit has been good without Smart, notching a +4.7 net rating that is all the more impressive when remembering all of Boston's slow starts last season. Stevens could try to keep that success going and hope Smart can boost the bench.

"That (decision is) not up to me," Smart said. "Those guys have been playing very well with Isaiah and Avery in the starting lineup so I don't want to mess anything up and keep the rhythm going. And if it means I have to come off the bench for this team to keep winning games then I'll come off the bench."

For the sake of reference, the starting lineup with Smart instead of Bradley has a +0.9 rating, but has only played 66 minutes, a small sample size. Regardless of who starts, one major issue has persisted since February: the Celtics offense tumbles when Thomas sits.

2. The end of the rotation

Over the first 14 minutes of Sunday's win, Stevens went 11 deep -- and that was with regular David Lee missing his second straight game due to back spasms. The roster will be even more crowded once Smart can play close to his normal 29 minutes per game.

Inside the front office, even, some folks believe the Celtics would benefit from benching Lee -- whose on-off numbers have been a nightmare -- in favor of smaller units that were so successful last season. All along, Stevens has not hidden his desire to play small lineups more frequently. He likes the free-flowing style that stems from featuring a bevy of skilled players. But with Smart injured, the Celtics were deeper in the frontcourt than in the backcourt. Stevens was hesitant to spread the guards too thin.

Will that change now with Smart back? Lee was out Sunday, but the Celtics used small-ball to run away from New York during the second quarter. After pairing Jae Crowder with Jonas Jerebko at the 3 and 4, respectively, Boston immediately went on a 9-0 run to push a two-point lead to double-digits. For Isaiah Thomas, the spacing felt a bit like last season. He had nine points and three assists over the final six minutes of the quarter.

"It definitely helps me a lot," he said. "When we have a small lineup with guys that can space the floor and shoot, guys can't just focus in on me, especially when I come off of pick-and-rolls with pace and make the right decision."

Crowder at the 4 has worked in spurts, like during the comeback at San Antonio and the late charge to knock off Philadelphia, but many of Boston's small units feature both him and Jerebko. According to NBA.com, lineups with both of those guys have outscored opponents by a Golden State-ish 16.2 points per 100 possessions this season. That comes over a small sample size but is in line with how the duo performed over 325 minutes last season, when both players emerged as weapons during a playoff run.

The Celtics offense can go through stretches of meekness, but dances with Jerebko spacing the court, Crowder driving closeouts, and Thomas dipping through the wider cracks. Still, Boston has rarely gone small. Per game, the Crowder-Jerebko duo has recorded about one-third of the minutes it played last season. Overall, the tandem has only played 44 of its 127 minutes with Thomas, according to NBA.com.

The lefty would like more time with that group.

"It's hard to guard," Thomas said. "And I think Coach sees that and he's going to play that a little more, and pick and choose when to play it. But as you seen last season, it definitely worked for us. So hopefully we can get back to that."

Last season, lineups with Thomas, Crowder and Jerebko tallied 158 minutes and outscored opponents by an absurd 28.3 points per 100 possessions, according to NBA.com. This season, they are obliterating the competition by a similar 27.0 points per 100 possessions. Though the sample size is minuscule, it should grow soon, assuming Stevens likes winning. The team dynamic has changed with Crowder and Thomas in the starting lineup, but the golden trio should still receive consistent time.

Against New York, Stevens also gave 10 minutes to the Kelly Olynyk-Jared Sullinger pairing, which has been one of Boston's best offensive duos dating all the way back to Olynyk's rookie season. Finding more minutes for that tandem might have become more of a focus when Olynyk experienced so much success as a spot starter last week.

"Regardless of if Kelly starts or comes off the bench, we need Kelly to be an impactful offensive player," Stevens said. "When he's in the game people will have to account for him because of his shooting ability, and when he's playing the way he's playing right now it just adds another dimension to us. Unless we go small with Jae or Jonas, we're unlikely to be that skilled at the four. He really gives us traditional size plus some unique skill."

But we're here because of Smart's return...

... which should lift Boston's No. 3-ranked defense.

"I think it's important for two factors. Number one is he's very good at (applying defensive pressure)," Stevens said. "And number two is it allows other guys to play less minutes doing it. So that, you're a little bit fresher, and that's something that certainly if you want to be a great defensive team, can't wane."

Evan Turner reflected back on the Golden State Warriors game, when the Celtics needed to dig deep to defend Stephen Curry and the gang for regulation and two overtimes.

"When we're throwing tons of different people, tons of different players, I think it's going to help a lot that way defensively," Turner said. "And offensively he's growing as a playmaker. So I think that's going to help."

Added Thomas: "Once (Smart) gets back in this groove, we're going to be an even more complete team. And I can't wait until that day comes."




bob



.

In his first game back since he injured his knee in November it was again pretty obvious to me that this guy is almost always a positive force when on the court. He may be the only guy on the roster that I would not even think of trading. He definitely helps his team with tons of intangibles every game.

With that said, he is certainly still not the most highly skilled player in the league or maybe even on his own team. His shooting is still suspect as is his ability to be a true point guard who distributes to his teammates for easy scores. But, he is much improved from last year and is likely to continue to improve for many more years so figuring that the intangibles that he already brings will not disappear, his skill improvements are going to earn him the team captain-ship sooner rather than later and also a few all star selections, too.